Kier



A ril 8, 1924;

P. W. KIERNAN KIER ' I INVENTOR. YFM w. KW

BY If, My? ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,489,354. PATENT OFFECE.

PATRICK W. KIERNAN, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR' TO LOWELLBLEACH- ERY, OF LOWELL. IEASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Application filed May 18, 1923. Serial No 639,9 84.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK W. KIER- NAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and 5 State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inKiers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to an improvement in kiers. The object ofthe invention is to produce an automatic vomiting kier operating tomaintain a uniform pressure in the kier during the boiling process. Tothis end the present invention consists in the kier hereinafterdescribed and particularly defined in the accompanying drawingillustrating the kier in sectional elevation.

The following is a description of the apparatus with reference to theaccompanying drawings. The kier A of usual form and construction isprovided with the usual removable cover C and vent X. The steam pipe Nleads to the injector I at the bottom of the kier. Ablow ofi' pipeUleadsfrom the bottom of the kier. The vomiting pipe M leads from the injectorI to the top of the kier where it enters the top and leads to the sprayhead R where the liquor S is sprayed upon the goods D in the kier. Theseoods rest on the stones Q lying on the grating in the bottom of thekier. The vomiting pipe is provided near the top with the safety valveW. The steam pipe is provided with a balanced valve T which is openedand closed by a diaphragm regulator F, the lever of the steam valvebeing connected by means of the chain H running over the pulleys O tothe piston L of the regulator. A small regulator pipe G connects thevomit pipe with the regulator. The mode of operation is as follows :Thegoods are placed in the kier, the spray head swung into position, thecover is put on and secured hermetically, and then a certain amount ofliquor is introduced through the blow off pipe U which flows into thebottom of the kier and at the same time flows up through the vomit pipeand into the kier at the top, the vent being open at this time. Then thesteam is turned on to the. pipe N and the valve T being open, it fiowsdown to the bottom of the kier and lifts the liquor by means of theinjector to the top of the kier and sprays it on to the goods. The steamcontinues to flow until the pressure at the regulator is such as tocause it to operate to shut ofi the steam by closing the valve T. Duringthis part of the operation the vent is closed and the kier is brought upto pressure. Radiation of heat from the kier causes the pressure to falland when it falls below the critical point, the regulator opens thesteam valve T again and forces liquor from the bottom of the kier to thetop and sprays it upon the goods. When the liquor is exhausted in thebottom of the kier, steam rises in the vomit pipe and when it reachesthe top of the pipe it causes a pronounced rise in pressure whichoperates the regulator to close the valve T so as to prevent any drysteam from being blown into the top of the kier which would destroy thegoods on top. The operation of the kier is automatic, steam beingadmitted intermittently whenever the pressure in the kier falls belowthe predetermined amount determined by the regulator. The regulator, itwill be observed, may be adjusted to various pressures by adding to ortaking from the weights applied to the regulator lever. In operation theintermittent admission of steam to the injector is at such shortintervals that the resulting pressure in the kier remains practicallyuniform at all times. During the boiling process there is some rise ofthe liquor level due to the condensation of the steam used, as is usualin this class of kiers.

By means of this automatic regulation of the admission of steam to thekier for lifting liquor from the bottom and vomiting it upon the goodsat the top, the variations due to hand control of steam admission areeliminated and the danger of blowing dry steam on to the top of thegoods is avoided, with the result that a kier of improved operation issecured.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A vomiting kierhaving an injector connected with the bottom of the kier, a steam pipeleading to the injector provided with a steam valve, a vomit pipeconnecting the injector with the top of the kier,and an automaticregulator controlled by the pressure in the vomit pipe, operating on arise of pressure in the vomit pipe to close the steam valve and (ma fallin-pfessure in the vomit pipe to open the steam valve.

2. A vomiting kier having, in combination, a kier, a steam pipe 'forsupplying 5 steam to the kier, an injector connected with the steampipe, a vomiting pipe connectin the injector with the top of the kier,an

automatic means acting upon a rise in pressure at the top'of the kier toshut ofl the steam supply and upon a drop in pressure at the top-"0f thekier to open the steam supply.

PATRICK W. KIERNAN.

